Back To School Shopping

I don't know what my parents felt like when they sent me off on a plane to college, but maybe it is something like I am feeling now as I help my little brother Josh prepare for his freshman year at Moody Bible Institute (my alma mater). I'm excited for him and nervous for him. I made him a packing list and checked it twice, I bought the plane tickets, I signed him up for classes, I have given him all the pointers on what to do and what not to do (like don't be the boy who sits in the plaza and plays your guitar...but hold on to your wallet and don't lose your ID). Today I took him shopping and it was probably one of the best shopping experiences ever. He is worse than a girl. Fred Meyer was our first stop (well after I got my Starbucks iced coffee to get me through our escapades). Up and down the aisles we roamed picking out school supplies and necessary, well, necessities for college life. I picked out the practical thing

s like highlighters and notebooks, while Josh picked out the impractical things like a ruler that folds up into a little square like Jacobs ladder. 8 spiral notebooks for 96 cents?! Now that is a deal. I commanded Josh to pick out 6 colors for his 6 classes. See the colors below:

He proceeded to choose his colors based on the following criteria..

Blue-for his favorite class

Black-for the evil class that he will hate

Yellow- for the sunshine class that makes him smile

Green- for the class that help him grow the most

Purple- for the class with the pretty girl that he is attracted to

Red- for the class that causes the most spiritual warfare

Okay Josh...that is great!

I left him mumbling about pretty ladies and spiritual warfare to search for an eraser for his new shiny silver dry erase board. The nice lady with the name tag was showing me to the correct aisle and asked if I had lost some keys. I assured her I had not, but felt sorry for the poor people who would come back looking for them.

We moved on to 3m hooks and bedsheets. I asked Josh all sorts of questions about colors, and hanging things on the wall, and offered bits of nice older sister advice, while he.....carried around a giant Woody the cowboy (Toy Story 3) doll that he'd found, and read random quotes to me from a mini book of wisdom that he's picked up along the way.

I told Josh as he was checking out that I wish I could follow him around at college with a video camera to see how his college experience goes. I'm pretty sure it would be a hit reality show. I think I might hire somebody to follow him with a video camera and take pictures :).

As we arrived at the car Josh fumbled through his pockets and realized he had lost the car keys somewhere along the way (and he'd also left his water bottle chilling on some shelf). As we walked back through the store I realized that I had spoken too hastily to the woman with the lost car keys...thank goodness she wasn't the person at the customer service desk who handed them over to us. We walked out and I informed Josh that I would be driving from that point forward and I mumbled on about how he's going to get into all kinds of trouble in Chicago. He will probably get kidnapped by crazy people who will hold him for ransom until they get tired of him singing at the top of his lungs and let him go!

Our second stop was Target, where I enjoyed watching Josh try out all the pillows, contemplate polka dot sheets or black sheets (he chose black thank goodness), and take 20 minutes to choose which travel shampoo and toothpaste he wanted. I love my brother.

Tuesday I am getting on a red eye flight to deliver him to Chicago and help him settle in at Moody. I have no doubt he will fit in and do very well, but my motherly nerves are still frazzled thinking about how he will find a good job, learn to manage his time, make good friends, and succeed in his classes. If it is this bad with my brother....what will it be like when I have my own children. O dear......

The moral of the story is that I love my brother and I'm proud of him. I will miss him, and I wish him the best in the Windy City and in life...welcome to adulthood!